Foreground

How to spell foreground

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce foreground

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does foreground mean?

1. nounThe part of a view or image that is nearest to the viewer.
2. verbTo make something prominent or give it special attention.

Foreground in a sentence

• noun

  A wooden fence fills the foreground of the photograph.

• verb

  The report aims to foreground the needs of low income families.

• noun

  The painter placed two figures in the foreground and the mountains behind them.

• verb

  Good editors foreground the most important facts in the opening paragraph.

Where does foreground come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, built from two old Germanic elements that English speakers have used for centuries. The first part, 'fore', traces back to Old English 'fore', meaning 'in front of' or 'before', the same element seen in 'forehead', 'forecast' and 'foreman'. The second part, 'ground', comes from Old English 'grund', meaning the bottom, base or surface of something. The word itself is fairly young: it appears in the 1700s as a translation of the Dutch 'voorgrond', a painters' term for the part of a picture nearest the viewer, before it broadened into everyday and figurative use. Because both halves are common standalone words, the spelling trap is simply remembering it is written solid as one word, with 'fore' (not 'for') at the front.

How the word is built

• fore- (in front, before)
• ground (the surface or area)